Claire Burkum brought mushrooms, a wealth of knowledge, and a whole lot of energy to Wachtmeister Field Station for a mushroom workshop this Saturday. 25 people got out in the woods to do some mushroom hunting, and Claire taught about the anatomy of mushrooms, as well as some methods of identifying fungus. There are thousands upon thousands of fungi in the North Country alone, so there are plenty of specimens to practice identifying! 

I was walking in my fields and noticed this Goldenrod Crab Spider hunting on a black-eyed susan.

great sunset on the St Lawrence River

The rain clouds parted enough for a beautiful afternoon of wildflower drawing for us at Wachtmeister Field Station in Canton, NY. After leaning how to set up a nature journal and some tips and tricks on wildflower drawing, we all got outside to do our sketching.  

I noticed this deer in through the trees. I didn't realize it was a buck until I took the pic.

Last Monday I was at Heritage Park preparing for a water monitor training I was leading for Nature Up North. I aseptically collected a bottle of river water and brought it back to the biology lab at St. Lawrence University to grow the bacteria in the water sample on a petri plate. After two days of incubation this is what I got! These little colonies of E. coli and coliform bacteria grew and I counted them for our records. At first you might think "Ew!

These are better pictures than the first visit and just as exciting to see this unique deer family.

Had a great time getting to know a flower today. I've met Queen Anne's Lace before, but siting down and drawing it let me get truly acquainted, and I noticed details and parts of the plant I'd never noticed before. Nature drawing rocks!